Try candle shops that use bees wax for their candles. I found a Kosher store that sells beeswax candles for Shabbat services. The summer heat destroyed the candle, but it will have a new use to wax my beading thread!

Real beeswax doesn't melt in the summer. Its melting point is 135F. Unless you're somehow experiencing 135 degree Fahrenheit heat, your candles shouldn't melt. (The temperature at which beeswax melts is really close to the temperature at which health agencies agree water is pasteurized.)

The heaviest component of beeswax is Triacontanol. It's a 30-carbon long chain wax-alcohol. In China, all beeswax must be sold to the government. They remove the Triacontanol because it's a powerful fertilizer, especially for rosids.

Triancontanol has other properties. For one thing, it's what makes real beeswax candles burn much longer.

When you buy beeswax from a candle shop, it's usually imported from Asia. It doesn't burn long because the best portion has been removed. It is very cheap because you're buying the dross.

This altered beeswax doesn't make lipbalm like it should, doesn't stick to quilting thread or sinew or artificial sinew like it should.

Triacontanol lends the wax a clinging quality that keeps knots from untying, and keeps the thread stitching from slipping around. The cheap-o beeswax is more of a lubricant and knots can be untied by pulling on them. The technique of dipping candles ensures the Triancontanol content is even from tip to stem. (Pioneer lore says to use the bottom of a poured beeswax candle for making locks and gate hinges unstick. The higher up the poured candle, the less Triacontanol there is, and a poured candle is molded upside-down.)

If what you're wanting to do with it is sculpting for lost wax, there's some options that might interest you. Mix olive oil and canning paraffin for a malleable faux beeswax. If you miss the color, a smidge of turmeric will turn it yellowy without affecting the way it burns out.

Altered beeswax from craft stores may have been cut with paraffin, which makes it brittle and flaky for purposes of sculpting. I'm not a snob about using "all-natural" materials but you should know paraffin, when burned, produces benzene and toluene. Like neatsfoot oil, high-Triacontanol-content beeswax candles are smoke-free. Candles made from beeswax or soy don't release significant levels of chemicals*.

Yes, I know the labels say "Pure Beeswax". And the jars say "Pure Honey" but they're fructose syrup. There's some skullduggery going on in this corner of world trade. :( Sorry for the bad news, everybody.

Talzhemir wrote:If what you're wanting to do with it is sculpting for lost wax, there's some options that might interest you. Mix olive oil and canning paraffin for a malleable faux beeswax. If you miss the color, a smidge of turmeric will turn it yellowy without affecting the way it burns out.

Altered beeswax from craft stores may have been cut with paraffin, which makes it brittle and flaky for purposes of sculpting. I'm not a snob about using "all-natural" materials but you should know paraffin, when burned, produces benzene and toluene. Like neatsfoot oil, high-Triacontanol-content beeswax candles are smoke-free. Candles made from beeswax or soy don't release significant levels of chemicals*.

Yes, I know the labels say "Pure Beeswax". And the jars say "Pure Honey" but they're fructose syrup. There's some skullduggery going on in this corner of world trade. :( Sorry for the bad news, everybody.

Thank you for for all this information. There is a bee hive in the floor boards of our house, under my closet of the bedroom no less.
The bees are dormant right now but I am loathe to fetch any wax or honey. I have no beekeeping skills and the few beekeepers in this region of the Southwest USA, none of them will come for a hive lest it be Africanized. So, we have lived with this hive for two years. But I will go elsewhere to buy beeswax!
ATEYO

Ateyo, if you want those bees to move, you may be able to make it happen with a little smoke at a time frequently. It might take a few days. After they move, you can remove the honey and comb. Their instinct is to gorge on honey and leave if they smell smoke.

Twice I have stopped honeybees while they were moving into my garage. All I did was set a small cotton rag on fire and toss it onto the concrete floor. Each time, within 30 minutes, the bees were all gone.

You can buy cosmetic grade beeswax on Amazon for $9.95 a pound (Stakich brand). It is also sold in most craft stores and even Walmart in their craft department. I bought some from a local beekeeper for $5.00 a pound

Thank you for the suggestions. Our home is made of wood with only a narrow cement footer. Smoking out the bees will take unloading my Fibber McGee closet! There are other tasks more pressing, and they are quiet for another few weeks I hope!